Guest speaker this week, ex-Hawthorn footballer Ray Wilson, played in the 1971 grand final; described by many as the toughest match ever played. Vicious and head-high tackles frequently brought the runners to the ground to help players back to their feet. While the on-field play appears barbaric by today’s standards his comments about old fashioned sportsmanship and humanity off the field struck a chord and are worth reflecting upon.

Over the last four decades, a profusion of new rules and the introduction of more umpires has only partly made the game safer, as injury lists remain long. The rules have not made the game cleaner, as players cunningly manipulate the rules to their advantage. Ray highlighted a post-match address by Hawthorn coach John Kennedy in which he urged his victorious team to think compassionately of their twenty defeated despondent opponents in the adjacent dressing room; demonstrating humanity rarely seen today. Kennedy’s words were contrasted with a particularly unsportsmanlike comment made by a coach in more recent times.

If we transition to today’s society more generally we find that institutions that could once be relied upon to act with integrity and trust are now prone to callous and dishonest behaviour. The Hayne Royal Commission has highlighted that neither rules nor umpires guarantee ethical behaviour or concern for clients; particularly the vulnerable.

If rules and umpires are failing us, perhaps we should again cultivate an emphasis on moral principles, such as that expressed by Paul Harris in this comment “The best way to win the esteem of others is by observing the simple rules of decency. If they won’t accomplish the desired result, nothing will.” (Paul Harris, This Rotarian Age, page 62) Furthermore, the application of Rotary’s 70-year-old four-way test continues to be relevant in business, sport and general dealings with others.

“Let’s appoint a religious atheist, who is an Aussie Rules agnostic, to write up this week’s speaker.” Your editor handballed it to me – what a fine sense of mischief!Our speaker was Ray Wilson, who played Aussie Rules Footy for various clubs in the 1960s, including Hawthorn, and including a grand final or two. He shared a magnificent repertoire of anecdotes about players, coaches and officials who were all well known by repute to almost every person in the room. (Indeed, even I, the curmudgeon with the working pen, had heard of quite a few of them.) But I won’t waste time trying to report any of the anecdotes –I would surely get at least one detail wrong!

The blurry B&W video of a final from way back in 1971 showed much that was the same as we are seeing in the current finals series: Skills, fitness, strength, and excessive aggression. It also showed a deplorable amount of waste paper flying around – at least we seem to have left that deplorable habit behind, thank goodness!

Photo: Ray Wilson's "bump" on Carl Ditterich in the 1971 Grand Final.

So, in what light do I see the cult of Aussie Rules? It is spectacular to watch. But the rates of injury and conflict seem to be grossly excessive. Maybe the matches are echoes of gladiatorial ‘games’ and of public executions? Today’s vast crowds are wondrous to behold; and let us rejoice that crowd violence seems to be much less than in many other sports.

Footy provides a real sense of community, and of belonging, to thousands of fans of particular clubs. It raises hopes and expectations – sometimes to be realised, and other times as false hopes. For how many fans does Footy provide a weekly escape from otherwise ordinary lives?

The fact that every newspaper devotes many pages every day to Aussie Rules is presumably evidence of the huge love of the populace for this feature of our lives. If our society can afford so many huge temples (footy grounds) and so many very highly paid bureaucrats and stars, then surely we should be able to afford more generous treatment of the poor in our midst? Surely, also, the passionate allegiance of some individuals, and some families, to a particular team, and regular attendance, can be seen as a form of religious devotion?

Like many of today’s house hunters, the pioneers of tennis in Melbourne had difficulty finding a home of their own.

The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) gave a helping hand. It had a tennis section and built some of the early courts, including one of asphalt at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1878 – a year after the first Wimbledon.

Australasia’s continuing Davis Cup triumphs boosted public interest in tennis even further; so much so that the Albert Ground courts quickly proved inadequate for the LTAV. Other sites were inspected, but were either unavailable or unsuitable, and so the search was postponed until the end of the First World War.

Then, in 1919, an opportunity occurred to acquire 17 1⁄2 acres in Glenferrie Road, close to Kooyong railway station. The prominent financier and politician William L. Baillieu had bought the land for £175 an acre and was prepared to let the LTAV have it at the same price. The amount came to £3080, on top of which would eventually come the cost of putting down courts, building a clubhouse and stadium, and other works.

A sub-committee that included Norman Brookes investigated the low-lying land, which was prone to flooding from the adjacent Gardiner’s Creek. “Gardiner”, incidentally, was not the creek’s original name. The local Aborigines, in the previous century, called it Kooyong Koot (meaning, “haunt of the wildfowl”). In 1836, John Gardiner drove 400 head of cattle to Kooyong from his property at Yass, in New South Wales. After buying out his partners, he became sole owner of a cattle station centred on Kooyong Koot, with his cottage on a hill that became the site of Scotch College. Gardiner prospered but left the property after surviving an attack by Aborigines.

What mostly concerned the LTAV sub- committee was the repeated threat of flooding. It estimated that it would cost £4000 to drain the ground and protect it from inundations. Two costly floods, in 1923 and 1924, were heartbreaking and seriously delayed the work that needed to be done to convert the swampy, mosquito-and-weed-infested paddock into a Garden of Eden. Another flood, in 1934, would be so huge that Kooyong seemed better equipped to conduct a regatta than a tennis tournament.

Some wondered where all the money would come from.

And, indeed, it was a struggle. Slowly, however, funds were raised by the sale of debentures and assorted forms of membership, including one that offered permanent seating in a yet-to-be built stand. Over the next decade and beyond, funds would be raised by tournaments, by social functions, and by persuading members and others to make donations.

Mark Twain once said that if you eat a live frog first thing in the morning, nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.

Popularised by author Brian Tracy, the "eat that frog" habit suggests we tackle our most dreaded task first thing in the morning when we are less susceptible to distractions. Eating the frog may uit those, like myself, who are prone to procrastination. Completing my most difficult task first up creates a sense of accomplishment and momentum for the rest of the day.

I don't always manage to "eat that frog" every morning. But the days when I do feel as if I've received some kind of bonus. With the hardest task behind me, I'll reset, shower and attend to tasks that are usually swallowed up by the snooze alarm, before getting to work.More Simple routines to help busy people maximise health and productivity.

Special thanks this week go to our roving reporter Lawrence Reddaway, who rose from his sick-bed to report on our speaker Ray Wilson OAM. Having a total knee replacement and supporting the Salvo Hawks have obviously increased his empathy for Aussie Rules. Lawrence’s astute observations give us a new slant on the game.

Thanks also to Henry “Flash” Drury for his photos: He neatly caught Lawrence and his crutches, and Ray with a T-shirt showing his infamous “bump” on Carl Ditterich. We make use of Henry's talents while he and Jane are in Melbourne: they will be off on another trip shortly.

The Shadow has noted how speakers frequently acknowledge the traditional ownwers of the swampland where we meet for our weekly Rotary Lunch, and wondered how it was converted to the luxurious venue that is now the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club. Converting "the swampy, mosquito-and-weed-infested paddock into a Garden of Eden" indeed!

Hence our article by Alan Trengove, gleaned from the commemerative edition of “Courtside”, the official magazine of Kooyong Tennis Club. We hope you find it informative.

A Google search helped us to find old photos of the Yarra River and Gardiner's Creek near Kooyong.

Last week, PRIP Frank Devlyn thanked his supporters for their feedback on his vimeo “Frank Talks”. The Shadow envies him, for here at the office, our team of hard-working gnomes (who beaver away through the night, searching the extensive Rotary mail-outs for something that may amuse our readers), get no feedback at all.

Although its Footy Finals time, it is only the end of the first quarter of the Rotary year. It prompts us to ask: Do you enjoy The Bulletin? Do you look forward to it each week? Or do you quickly click onto the next e-mail, thinking you may read it later?

Perhaps you would like to tell us what you would like to receive: More or less? Jokes? In depth stories? Health tips? Whatever?

Or even better, you could sent us a contribution: the Home Hosting dinners are coming up, so there’s sure to be some scuttlebut. How about a critique of the meal and the “restaurant”? (With photos, of course) Who will put digit to keyboard?

Hawthorn Rotary Website: Some members are having trouble finding the Club website lately: ClubRunner may have removed some “redundant” links, or decided we need only one domain name, who knows? But rest assured we can still be found at https://www.hawthornrotary.org.au Check out the new look.

Bronwyn joined the Rotary Club of Melbourne South in 2008. After undertaking Rotary Leadership Institute and President Elect Training she was Club President in 2009-2010

Since then she has served the Club in various capacities including Bulletin Editor, Secretary and Treasurer. She has chaired the World of Difference project for her Club.

Other involvement at District level includes Assistant Governor Stonnington Cluster 2013-2016. Leading a Vocational Training Tour of 4 teachers to Cambodia in January 2016, where they provided two four day workshops for 160 Cambodian teachers, was a highlight. She was the Community Services District Chair 2016-2017.

Bronwyn is a Royce Abbey Awardee and a Paul Harris Fellow recipient, as is her husband Mark. They are both members of the Paul Harris Society.

Barrie has been a Counsellor with Lifeline for many years. He has many stories and experiences to relate .

This is also ‘Hat Day’. Remember how much fun last year's Hat Day Was!? We are helping Australian Rotary Health to 'Lift the Lid on Mental Illness' by hosting a Hat Day. Wear a hat...can be outrageous, simple, entertaining, home made or bought.

Home Hosting is one of the best fellowship functions of the year and you’re all invited ….

We’re looking for, a) hosts and b) guests to attend our 2018 Rotary Hawthorn Home Hosting – it’s most members’ favourite fellowship event and usually voted the best of the year …

Please ask your partner whether you are able to host a group of four or six fun-loving, wine-drinking, story-telling Rotarians for a night of conviviality and fellowship. The hosts provide the main course, guests are asked to bring either hors d’oeuvres, entrée or dessert, and a bottle from the cellar …

Please let me know you’re coming, and whether as a host or a guest … Obviously, the evening can only progress if we have enough hosts for the number of guests. I’ll need to know by Tuesday September 25th - by email or 0419 313 981 …

Envelopes advising venue and the course to bring will be distributed at Rotary on Tuesdays October 2nd and 9th, or details will be advised by email to our Thursday Rotarians ...

Home Hosting is such a fun evening - do hope to hear you are coming . . . . . Ngaire Cannon

Fifth Monthly Meeting

The Wednesday evening group will meet on Wednesday 17thOctober at 7.00 pm.

Kim D'Arcy always seeks to finalize numbers by Monday 8.30am by collating responses about attendance at the next meeting. So please try to email back to her by that time; and, at the same time, forewarn of any guests. (Predicting our numbers as closely as possible helps to minimize our catering costs.) kimcco@tpg.com.au